Gun rights supporters rally at Vermont Statehouse

Rally is third in back-and-forth demonstrations since January

Feb. 23, 2013

Written by

ANDREW STEIN

Associated Press

MONTPELIER — Hundreds of people cheered and waved signs from the steps of the Vermont Statehouse amid snowfall Saturday to protest further restrictions on firearms and to hear from legislators and gun rights groups.

“Millions of good people own these firearms and magazines,” said state Sen. John Rodgers, D-Essex-Orleans. “Because bad people do bad things with them is no reason to take them away from us. … Guns are not the problem.”

The rally was the second in a month in Montpelier, and it came a week after roughly 200 people at the Statehouse demonstrated for increased gun regulations. Another gun-rights group rallied at the Statehouse in January.

A reporter at the event said about 300 people attended Saturday’s rally, but attendees and organizers disputed that figure as too low. Some said 500 were on the Statehouse steps and lawn; others put the figure as high as 1,500.

Vermont is one of four states that allow its residents to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, and protesters Saturday pointed to federal statistics that show Vermont has among the lowest per-capita gun violence rates in the country.

State and federal laws already are sufficient, said Rep. Patrick Brennan, R-Colchester, who also pointed to the economic benefits of Vermont’s current gun laws, including spending by hunters and fishermen and tens of millions of dollars generated in local and state taxes.

Across the street from the rally stood three women who called themselves the “raging grannies.” They sang a jingle and smiled when passers-by jeered at them.

“This is a fear-based movement,” said one of the women, Joelen Mulvaney, 64, of Barre. “It is understandable that people who are afraid want to protect themselves and they have been taught that the best way to protect themselves is with weaponry.”